66 pages • 2 hours read
Elizabeth GilbertThe Signature of All Things
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Further Reading: Beyond Literature (Nonfiction)
The Signature of All Things (Signatura Rerum) (1621) by Jacob Boehme
Jacob Boehme (in German, Böhme, 1575-1624) was a cobbler, mystic, and philosopher who developed a theosophy independent of the orthodox Catholicism or Protestantism of his day. He conjectured an interconnected natural world where all things carried a hidden meaning or signature, the imprint of a divine creator. Boehme was considered radical, but his ideas went on to influence later mystical movements like Quakerism, cultural movements like German Romanticism, and philosophers including Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Jung.
On the Origin of Species (1859) by Charles Darwin
This links to the text of the 1859 first edition available at Project Gutenberg. Beginning in 1836, Darwin published over 20 major works, including his observations from his voyage with the HMS Beagle (published between 1838 and 1843) and The Descent of Man (1871), in which Darwin postulated that humans descended from an ape-like ancestor. On the Origin of Species, the book in which Darwin formulated his groundbreaking theory of evolution, was the culmination of over 20 years of study and observation. In describing the principle of natural selection, or “survival of the fittest,” Darwin first convincingly articulated a provable mechanism by which species mutate, evolve, and adapt. His theories, which provoked intense debate in his time, are now accepted as fact among the scientific community.
“Who Was Alfred Russel Wallace?” by James McNish
This article by the London Natural History Museum provides a brief biography of Wallace’s life, touching on his friendship with Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution that he independently proposed, which prompted Darwin to present his ideas on natural selection to the Linnean Society of London. The article contains links to other museum holdings that help illustrate developments in the fields of biology and zoology during the 19th century.
Video and Podcast Resources
“Elizabeth Gilbert Discusses The Signature of All Things” (2013) by Bibliostar.TV
In this video interview by Rich Fahle of Bibliostar.TV, which was recorded at the Book Expo America on May 31, 2013, Gilbert discusses how she came to write The Signature of All Things after writing her bestselling memoir. She speaks in particular of the joy and power that came from research and writing a novel that spans so much of the 19th century.
Other Relevant Media Resources
“What is Botanical Illustration?” (2021) by Emma Taggert
This article at My Modern Met discusses, with detailed illustrations, the historical and present-day artists who have contributed to the field of botany and helped educate the public through botanical illustrations that are themselves works of art.
De Hortus – The Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam
The Amsterdam botanical gardens, some of the oldest in the world, were established in 1638. The collection began as an herb garden to cultivate medicinal plants. The Hortus moved to its current address in 1683 and became a repository for plants brought to Europe from all over the world by traders with the Dutch East India Company. The gardens are alive and well into the present day, open to visitors, and popular among residents and tourists alike.
Related Titles
By Elizabeth Gilbert
